Many gas appliances utilize pilot light systems, which typically include a valve or regulator that controls the output of the main gas line as well as provide a reduced gas pressure for the pilot light gas line. A pilot orifice provides the egress point from which gas leaves the pilot light gas line and is ignited into a flame. Many pilot light systems utilize a continuous flame emitted from the pilot orifice, while other systems are designed to ignite the pilot light sometime prior to the required output from the main gas line. Additionally, many commercial gas appliances (e.g., commercial boilers) use separate pressure regulators for the pilot light gas line as well as separate solenoid or mechanism to start and stop the flow of gas to the pilot light assembly. Nevertheless, a pilot flame typically burns for a substantial and/or continuous period of time during the time the gas appliance is actively being used as well as when the output of the main gas line is shut off by the valve or regulator.
The most common cause for failure of a gas appliance is a malfunctioning pilot light. Moreover, the most common cause for a malfunctioning pilot light is a partially or wholly blocked pilot orifice. Pilot orifices are very small apertures that were typically round, but in more recent designs are generally rectangular. After time white ash from sulfur and gas impurities deposit in and around the pilot orifice causing it to be blocked. When no flame is capable of being emitted from the pilot orifice, the pilot light system and the entire gas appliance malfunction requiring a service call to fix the problem.
The result is many costly service calls that take a significant amount of repair time because a traditional method of cleaning the pilot orifice is to use a tip tool having several thin elongated shafts of different sizes and diameters. Using a tip tool required the service technician to gain access to the pilot light assembly where the pilot orifice exists. Gaining access to the pilot orifice usually requires the technician to take apart a significant portion of the pilot light system and appliance in general. Once access has been gained, one of the thin elongated shafts of the tip tool is pushed through the blocked pilot orifice to clear the impediments blocking it.
In addition to the significant amount of time required for this repair technique, if the wrong tip/thin elongated shaft is used, the pilot orifice becomes damaged or deformed (typically enlarged) and thereby changes the engineering design of the pilot light system to the overall detriment of the gas appliance. This concern is greatly enhanced due to the aforementioned recent change in pilot orifice shape from round to rectangular. Most repair technicians only possess older tip tools having round elongated shafts, which when used with rectangular orifices significantly deforms the pilot orifice.
Heretofore, an improved tool and method for cleaning pilot orifices that can reduce the time necessary for a service call as well as avoid damaging the pilot light system remains a long felt need of service technicians who repair the many gas appliances utilized in home and commercial dwellings around the world.